The rumor industry surrounding Infogroup was in full swing on Tuesday, as reports of high-level executive departures swirled around the industry amid speculation sale of the company is imminent.
Infogroup spokesperson Lisa Olson confirmed there had been layoffs that affected 40 employees at all levels and locations throughout the company. Those let go are eligible for severance packages, she said.
“This is a continuation of our efforts to rationalize the business and strengthen our ‘go to market’ strategy,” Olson told Direct Newsline. “With this alignment, we are moving away from a product-siloed company to a customer-centric organization to ensure we align customer needs with our full product offerings.”
“This new sales and business methodology will help us remove layers in the organization and get us closer to the customers and their needs,” Olson added.
Olson would not name employees let go, but the Omaha World-Herald reported those laid off included Rakesh Gupta, executive VP and general manager of the product group; Tim Buechler, senior VP of operations; Amy Rongisch, senior VP of product management; and Jeff Ferris, senior vice president of vertical markets.
Rakesh Gupta is no relation to Infogroup founder and board member Vinod C. Gupta.
In addition to confirming these, industry sources included Gary Parisi, senior VP of business development in the Infogroup National Accounts division; and VP Maryann Litz among those let go.
The layoffs come amid speculation that the company is moving closer to a sale. According to industry buzz, of the two most prominent suitors The Carlyle Group is the clear frontrunner, while Dun & Bradstreet has faded to the also-ran position.
Earlier this year, Infogroup reorganized its business units, merging 31 entities operating under its banner into 10 business units.
At the same time, CEO Bill Fairfield’s contract was renegotiated, with the new agreement calling for his employment to be on an automatically renewing quarter-by-quarter basis, with both himself and the company able to terminate it.
